South Kesteven Prosperity Fund – Grant Information

South Kesteven Prosperity Fund Overview

Due to an exceptionally high number of eligible projects, Year 2 South Kesteven Prosperity Fund is now fully allocated. We are now accepting applications for Year 3 funding which will be available from 1st April 2024.  

If your project requires capital funding for existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer and falls within a rural part of South Kesteven District, we have up to £50,000 available to be spent before 31st March 2024 through the South Kesteven Rural Fund. Please use this application form to apply for this funding.

---------------

On December 5th, 2022, the Government formally approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations for all UK District Councils.

South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) has been awarded a total of £3.9 million in funding for projects which will be delivered between 2023 and March 2025. Of this funding, approximately £1,000,000 will be allocated to town and parish councils, parish meetings, chartered trustees, and community groups within South Kesteven through the South Kesteven Prosperity Fund.

The fund will finance projects which deliver improvements to community buildings, green spaces, and provide funds for culture, arts, and heritage initiatives within the District.

Applications will be assessed based on how the project responds to a local need, the benefits for the community, and the feasibility of the project being completed within the required timeframe, and must align with at least one of the below interventions, set out by Government: 

E2: Funding for new, or improvements to existing, community and neighbourhood infrastructure projects including those that increase communities’ resilience to natural hazards, such as flooding. This could cover capital spend and running costs.

E3: Creation of and improvements to local green spaces, community gardens, watercourses and embankments, along with incorporating natural features into wider public spaces.

E4: Enhanced support for existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer.

E6: Support for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities.

For the purposes of the fund a ‘Community Group’ is defined as a group or organisation which works for the public benefit.

Further information about the South Kesteven Prosperity Fund can be found in the drop down boxes below.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply community groups must have:

·        A formal constitution
·        A dedicated bank account in the name of the group
·        The bank account must have two signatories that are unrelated

Community groups must be located within South Kesteven. However, national charities are able to apply providing the project they are proposing is delivered entirely within the district and is of direct benefit to the community in which it is carried out. 

As long as the application criteria are met, there is no limit on the number of applications which an organisation may submit. However, each project must be submitted as a separate application and will be considered independently.

There is no required waiting time between applications. 

Applications to the fund will not be prejudiced by previously unsuccessful applications from the same organisation. 

There are no fixed deadlines for applications.  Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the annual allocation of funding is committed. 

To apply for the South Kesteven Prosperity Fund all projects must take place within South Kesteven and provide public benefit, which could be targeted at a specific demographic, or the community as a whole.

Funding Categories

The programme will fund four broad categories, building improvements, green space and outdoor improvements, culture and arts initiatives, and heritage initiatives. Projects should not have any ongoing maintenance costs or liabilities that cannot be met by the fund recipient. Criteria for each category is listed below.

Building improvements can take place in any public or community building including but not limited to parish buildings, town council buildings, libraries, outdoor and indoor sports facilities, leisure centres, and community hubs. 

o   Eligible applicants must have permission before applying to undertake any work on the buildings. If required, planning permission must be sought before applying.

o   Building improvements include but are not limited to: internal and external improvements and modification, improvements to energy-efficiency, creating or refurbishing sports facilities, and feasibility studies for building improvements.

Green space and outdoor improvements can take place in any public area where the eligible applicants have permission to undertake work. 

o   These areas can include but are not limited to parks, land surrounding parish and town council buildings, streets and pavement, land surrounding natural bodies of water, and any other public squares or green spaces.
 
o   Before applying, eligible applicants must have permission to undertake the improvements from the landowner, and any other necessary permissions.

o   Green space and outdoor improvements include but are not limited to community greening and landscaping, nature-based solutions for flooding, reforestation or afforestation initiatives, rewilding initiatives, creation and enhancement of footpaths, wayfinding improvements, and feasibility studies for green space and outdoor improvements.

o   Culture and Arts Initiatives must provide public benefit, which could be targeted at a specific demographic, or the community as a whole. Events should be free to the attendees.

o   Eligible applicants must have permission to undertake any projects or events before applying.

o   Cultural and Arts Initiatives can include but are not limited to art fairs, instillation of public art, art competitions, cultural festivals and fairs, literature festivals, food festivals, concerts, dance exhibitions, and other related events. 

Approved Grants to Date

Holy Trinity Church, Allington – £20,000
Installation of a disabled toilet facility.

Swinstead Village Hall – £19,400
Refurbishment of toilet facilities.

North Witham Village Hall – £3799.84
Replace heating to the main hall and entrance hall and add heating to the toilets.

Great Gonerby Parish Council – £1,400
For a D-Day community celebration in June.

Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire – £1,000
Support to Heritage Open Days and accompanying brochure.

St Wulfram’s church, Grantham – £49,500
Installation of 78 photo-voltaic panels on the roof.

Stamford Art Pop Up – £35,421
Activities and events including family activity events, a recruitment event, skills development workshops, weekly evening drop in and activity sessions and youth led cultural events.

Boothby Pagnell Village Hall – £24,000
Installation of a photo-voltaic solar panel system.

Caythorpe & Frieston Parish Council – £23,740
To install a photo-voltaic solar panel system and batteries at the playing field pavilion.

Claypole Village Hall – £19,620
Installation of a newly configured kitchen refit.

Lawrence Park Recreation Ground,Thurlby – £18,300
Removal of community hall showers and refurbishment of toilet facilities at plus the installation of new sinks, flooring and decoration throughout.

SKDC – £15,000
Match funding to create an Airborne Forces Visitor Trail across South Kesteven.

Stubton Village Hall – £14,335
to replace five windows and three doors.

Bourne Wheelers Cycling Club – £8,000
A festival including cycle races, skateboarding and classic cars, celebrating the history of Bourne.

Dyke Village Hall – £5,000
New purpose built shed for storage.

Carlby Village Hall – £3,590
Replace the front door and fire doors.

Corn Exchange Theatre Company – £3,250
Equipment for the new Visitor Centre in the foyer of the Corn Exchange, Stamford.

BALM (Bereavement and Loss Matters) Peterborough and Stamford CIC – £1,100
Events to support families following the death of a child of any age.

Rock School Bus CIC - £3,000
To provide an immersive musical experience in Bourne to local children, young people and their families. Providing an opportunity to learn to play an instrument, sing, write songs, design band merchandise, all in preparation for the final day where the evening entertainment will take place starring the 'Summer Rocks' performers.

Baston Parish Council - £1,400
Replacement parish notice board.

Bourne Hall Town Trust - £1,500
To provide a variety of free workshops during the National Heritage Open Day 2023 event to run throughout the day and will incorporate a variety of art media with local artists.

Horbling Parish Council - £2,300
To enable the Parish Council to increase public awareness of historic sites by installing a rustic information sign which will provide details of the sites of interest.

Barkston & Syston Playing Field - £4,000
Replacement doors and fascia's which will increase security and reduce heating costs.

Deeping St James Priory Church Hall - £4,300
Replacement of the existing heating boiler which has reached the end of its life.

Sedgebrook Parish Council - £5,000
Replacement goal posts, an additional picnic bench and to install shelving within a phone box for the provision of leaflets and magazines.

Rippingale Jubilee Playing Field Fund - £20,000
To replace an old, unfit and unused temporary sports changing facility to enable organised sports teams to make better use of the facility. Bodies as the Football Association require changing rooms for teams, with associated toilet amenities.

Carlby Village Hall Committee - £15,000
Solar power and battery storage.

Tallington Parish Council - £14,475
To repair and restore the 430 metres of footpaths through the Millennium Green to provide a wheelchair/pram friendly non-slip surface all year round.

Tallington Village Hall and Playing Field Association - £13,160
Replacement of rotting wooden play equipment with steel apparatus, plus additional play equipment to benefit the children of the village and surrounding area, also to provide play for a wider age group, in particular nursery aged children.

Fulbeck Village Hall & Playing Field Committee - £13,000
A new cafe/bar area with seating in the Village Hall to allow people to meet up for chat and refreshments in a new environment with a "good ambience".

Alive Church, Grantham - £7,675
To encourage and provide male-oriented English conversational lessons, plus suitable craft projects using wood and tools in a wider project to reduce loneliness and isolation in the Afghan community now resident in Grantham. Also to fund fun days for children in the Afghan community and to meet the cost of roof renovation at the premises.

Brudenell Playing Fields Management Committee (aka Baston Village Hall) - £9,676
To replace a see-saw in the children's play area as well as an existing single junior swing with a combined parent and toddler swing.

St Andrews Church, Billingborough - £9,260
Restoration of the church clock.

Frank Newbon Community Projects CIC, Stamford - £7,000
To fund improvements and additional equipment for the Outdoor Gym on Stamford Recreation ground - a free-to-enter gym for all to enjoy.

Barrowby Sports Pavilion Committee (Parish council sub-committee) - £6,000
New flooring for the sports pavilion in Barrowby.

Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without Parish Council - £6,000
To replace the current "Wooden Trim Trail" equipment with a new metal equipment. 

Burton le Coggles Parish Meeting - £5,000
To landscape and fence the green space outside the village hall to provide a safe area for children to play whilst supervised.

Ron Dawson Memorial Trust, Corby Glen - £5,160
To fit replacement loft insulation to reduce heating costs.

Claypole Village Hall - £4,702
Equipment and set-up costs for a Community Cinema Club. This would meet demand for a facility within walking distance of all Claypole residents. This would create a relaxed social environment, cater for all ages and tastes and lead to some friendship and ideas for other social activities.

Uffington Parish Council - £3,420
A new village notice board with a coronation plaque.

Irnham Parish Council - £3,000
Provision of a bespoke village sign to mark the Coronation of King Charles III.

Stamford Diversity Group CIC - £2,791
To help stage a free fusion diverse classical music concert to the most deprived area of Stamford, where local harpist Eleanor Turner will perform together with blues guitarist Wayne Bennett and Ukrainian Iryna Muha on vocals, hurdy gurdy and acoustic guitar. The event would be free with all local Ukrainian refugees invited, along with the newly-created local Ukrainian choir.  

The church of the Ascension, Grantham - £2,584
To purchase and install a replacement heater for the community hall.

Benedict Blythe Foundation, Stamford - £2,500
To help meet the costs of the Benedict's Story Prize, a creative writing competition for primary aged children in the wider Stamford area running through the Summer holidays in memory of Benedict Blythe, who lived in Stamford and died in 2021 aged five. A schedule of free or already funded activities is already in place.

Denton Village Hall Community Group - £2,362
To enable the renewal and replacement of the present unsafe, inefficient hand washing and water boiling facilities.

Friends of Stamford Station - £2,000
To install traditional directional signs and a welcome board in keeping with the heritage of the town, so visitors arriving at the Stamford station are aware of how and where to access the town centre.

St James' Church PCC, Castle Bytham - £1,900
For the repair and cleaning of the village war memorial.

Carlby Village Hall - £1,205
Replacement of the lighting system to reduce power consumption by 280 watts/hr for each of the 10 units, and to replace inefficient heaters.

Colsterworth Nature Trail - £1,200
To pay for a tree survey by a professional arborist to identify and prioritise trees which need felling.

The Thorold Arms Community Benefit Society Ltd, Hougham & Marston - £700
To hire electricity monitoring equipment to help correlate solar power generation against usage to justify potential battery purchase and installation.

Barholm and Stowe Parish Meeting - £590
To buy a new defibrillator box so that the medical equipment can be brought back into use.

Colsterworth Festival of Performing Arts - £500
To help fund the 25th Anniversary Concert at Walton Academy on Sunday, 26th March 2023, celebrating current and past performers and showcase local talent.

Hougham and Marston Village Hall - £250
Provision of "No Dogs" notices for the playing field.

Grantham Lions Club - £5,000
To provide residents with an opportunity to gather to celebrate King Charles III's Coronation - a celebration for everyone, especially for young families and children.

Arnhem 1944 Fellowship - £4,000
With the aim of preserving and promoting the District's military heritage, to commission a feasibility study to establish a public Arnhem and Airborne Forces Trail throughout South Kesteven. This would link with existing heritage around America's 9th Group Troop Carrier Command, whose aircraft transported airborne troops to Holland from airfields around Grantham.

St Wulfram's Parochial Church Council - £3,115
For necessary maintenance to the Grade I listed St Wulfram's Church in Grantham including replacing high-level window mesh to stop damage from pigeons and to repair gutters, sumps and downpipes to prevent water damage to stonework.

Castle Bytham Village Hall - £20,242
To provide a modern energy-efficient heating system, insulation to vaulted ceilings, draught-free exterior doors and LED lighting. This expands on previous work to the hall, which is a social centre and designated emergency centre.

Long Bennington Parish Council - £9,689
A traffic calming scheme with funding for village gateways to define the village entrance, exits and highlight the 30mph speed limit.

Open Door Baptist Church, Deeping St James - £8,000

Funding to upgrade to modern LED lighting, including installation of several modern controls including PIR to further reduce running costs, which will ensure the church can continue as a community hub.

Caythorpe & Frieston Parish Council - £12,977
To install an automated winding and regulation system in Grade I listed St Vincent's Church in Caythorpe. The church welcomes visitors from the surrounding area, with the clock set within the body of the church one of the main attractions. The mechanical clock was fabricated and installed by Dent of London in 1842, more than 10 years before the same company installed the Great Clock at the Houses of Parliament, better known as Big Ben.

Brudenell Playing Fields Management Committee will use £8,555 to replace fire doors at Baston Village Hall, which are in disrepair causing soaring heating costs at the hall, which is used by a range of village groups, including exercise classes, the WI, private parties and 'mum and tot' groups.

A safe play area for children will be built with the £8,000 allocation to Uffington Cricket Club, in a move to attract more families to the only sports facility in the village.

Stamford Art Pop-up (£6,353) will build on last year's successful free community arts event, which involved collaboration with local artist Korp to feature 12 urban artists and muralists painting 'live'.  

Deer-proof fences costing £5,642 are needed at the Jubilee Orchard in Swinstead, to protect the 60 fruit trees there from deer. The orchard is a safe family environment in a countryside setting.

Friends of Deeping Library will receive £2,148 for a pop-up cinema to visit for a two-day film festival meeting the local need for cinema without having to travel.

Deepings Community Library is being given £1,100 to run a History Heritage Day which 150 children from local schools will be invited to.

Grantham's Jubilee Church is in line for £3,750 to replace an old heater, without which community groups and language lessons would need to be cancelled in cold weather.

Loft insulation to reduce operating costs at Carlby Village Hall will be installed at a cost of £1,400.

A ukulele concert is being planned for Deeping St James by Priory Church, at a cost of £500.

Grantham Rivercare is being awarded £250 towards litter picking equipment for their work along the Witham and surrounding areas.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or require support with the application process, please email us at UKSPF@southkesteven.gov.uk

Was this page useful?

A-Z of Services

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z